Newly Released ECCouncil 312-50v13 Exam PDF

In CEH v13 Module 17: Mobile and IoT Security, Advanced SMS Phishing (also known as SMiShing) is described as a technique where attackers impersonate trusted entities via SMS to:

Trick users into entering authentication codes or PINs.

Deliver malicious payloads or alter device configurations.

Simulate OTA (Over-the-Air) provisioning messages.

In this case:

The attacker sends a fake OTA setup message asking for a PIN.

Once Ben enters the PIN, the device's configuration is hijacked.

Why Others Are Incorrect:

B. Bypass SSL pinning: Relates to mobile app reverse engineering and traffic interception.

C. Phishing: General term; SMS-specific variant is more accurate here.

D. Tap ‘n ghost: A touch screen manipulation attack, unrelated to messaging.

Correct answer is A. Advanced SMS phishing.

According to CEH v13 Mobile, IoT, and OT Hacking, Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) groups prioritize stealth, persistence, and long-term control. In IoT environments, the most attractive and effective entry point is firmware-level zero-day vulnerabilities.

IoT devices often:

Run outdated or proprietary firmware

Lack regular patching mechanisms

Operate with high privileges

Have minimal monitoring

Exploiting a zero-day vulnerability in firmware allows attackers to gain deep, persistent access that survives reboots and avoids traditional security controls. This aligns directly with APT objectives.

Credential theft (Option B) is common but less reliable for IoT systems. Encrypted MitM (Option C) is complex and less persistent. DDoS (Option D) disrupts services but does not provide control.

CEH v13 explicitly identifies firmware exploitation as the primary APT vector in IoT and OT environments. Therefore, Option A is correct.

This scenario describes Living-off-the-Land (LotL) malware techniques, where attackers modify or abuse legitimate system binaries and services to evade detection. CEH v13 identifies this as a highly stealthy persistence mechanism commonly used in advanced persistent threats (APTs).

The most effective countermeasure is file integrity monitoring (FIM), specifically by tracking cryptographic hashes of critical system executables. CEH v13 emphasizes that monitoring file hashes enables early detection of unauthorized modifications to binaries such as PowerShell, cmd.exe, or Windows services.

Backups (Option A) aid recovery but do not prevent or detect compromise. Antivirus updates (Option C) often fail against modified legitimate tools. Firewall hardening (Option D) reduces attack surface but does not detect tampering of trusted binaries.

CEH v13 explicitly recommends hash-based integrity verification as a core defense against stealthy persistence mechanisms. Therefore, option B is correct.

In CEH v13 Module 03: Scanning Networks, ICMP scan types are covered under host discovery techniques in Nmap/Zenmap.

The -PP option in Nmap is used to perform an ICMP timestamp request scan.

This method sends an ICMP timestamp request and listens for a timestamp reply from the target.

It helps analysts determine the system uptime and verify whether the host is alive (for stealthy discovery).

Option Clarification:

A. -PY: SCTP INIT Ping (used for SCTP-based hosts).

B. -PU: UDP Ping (sends UDP packets).

C. -PP: ICMP Timestamp Ping — correct answer.

D. -Pn: Skips host discovery (treats all hosts as alive), not a ping type.